AudioCircle
Industry Circles => Salk Signature Sound => Topic started by: savefarris on 5 Jul 2009, 09:13 pm
-
i just placed an order for a pair of HT1's and an HTC. i have a fairly large room, like to listen at high levels, use it primarily for rock music and home theater.
i have a denon 3808 which puts out about 120 wpc for 5 channels. im worried about the 4ohm HTC with the denon and would like an amp for the front 3.
i have been looking at
Van Alstine Insight 240/3 with the double die upgrades, but im worried that the 120 wpc it is rated for will not really give me much of an upgrade for my room.
Emotiva XPA-3
Outlaw 7500
I only have room for one amp so i cant do a stereo and a mono block.
have no problem going used to get under the roughly $1000 budget.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
-
savefarris,
I use an Odyssey Khartago with my HT1's and highly recommend it :thumb: My room is 18 x 12, and can run myself out of there wih no strain from the amp. The music just gets louder, but remains very clean.
-
savefarris,
I use an Odyssey Khartago with my HT1's and highly recommend it :thumb: My room is 18 x 12, and can run myself out of there wih no strain from the amp. The music just gets louder, but remains very clean.
that does look nice. the price is right too. do you use odyssey's pre-amp with that?
also the khartago is only rated at 110 wpc. so you arent having any problem driving them with 110 watts?
-
savefarris -
Good to hear you are joining the Salk family, you'll not be disappointed. I'm driving a Song Center, and Song Surround Is with a regular Omega 240/3, and haven't had any issues though I don't drive things to ear bleeding levels. Room is about same as mdfoy, but only using roughly half for the stereo/HT. I think you'll find Frank's ratings are very conservative in general, and from a conversation with him some time back that 120 wpc into 4 ohms will be closer to 200 wpc if I remember correctly. You should give him a call, he'll be happy to give you the correct numbers.
Good hunting, and listening. :thumb:
-
I use a Denon 3808ci in my HT and an ATI 1506 to power five SongTower speakers in a pretty large space in my basement.
I think the ATI does a great job in driving the SpngTowers with authority, while producing a sound that is non-fatiguing and allows me to watch movies, concerts, or tv for hours.
You can pick up an used 1506 for well under $1k.
When running all channels normally on the 1506, each channel produces 150 watts. However, you can bridge two channels to produce 450 watts per channel!!
Highly recommended.
George
-
Franks ratings are conservative, and are listed for 8 ohms. So a 240/3 into 4 ohms will make almost double the power, maybe something like 200wpc.
For some reason, I can't respond to PM's at the moment. But no, I will not be using the double 240/3 with HT3's. I'll be using a double 440. The double 240/3 is going to be hooked up to a pair of Songtowers and a Song center.
-
thank you for all the replies guys. how about any of the ICE amps? wyred 4 sound or d-sonic? anyone had experience with them?
-
Van Alstine
Parasound
ATI
Rotel
McCormack
I think any of those will suit you well. I believe Outlaw owns ATI, or perhaps it's the other way around. Either way, they should have a similar sonic signature and either would be a fine choice.
Happy hunting!
-
thank you for all the replies guys. how about any of the ICE amps? wyred 4 sound or d-sonic? anyone had experience with them?
When I started looking at amps, I was choosing between maily AVA and Wyred4Sound. They are both solid price/performance amps for guys not looking to spend 5K on a single amp. The Wyred's had a couple advantages, mainly they could be smaller, use less power, and have auto on/off depending on receiving a signal from the preamp/processor (I'm a lazy bastard). The AVA's had the advantage of being extremely solid performers with Salk systems (just check this forum), a smooth natural sound, and extremely reliable build quality with upgrade paths (guys have owned his stuff for 30 years). I had many personal conversations with Frank, and his knowledge of Salk systems and his gear, and great persona convinced me personally that was what I wanted to get, although I hear the guys over at Wyred have great customer service as well.
The advice I eventually took was that the digital amps are love it or hate it. After I heard one of Frank's rebuilt amps at Denni Murphy's' I didn't care what Wyred's sounded like, although I did get to hear a couple of other ICE amps. I'll stick with AVA.
-
Van Alstine
Parasound
ATI
Rotel
McCormack
I think any of those will suit you well. I believe Outlaw owns ATI, or perhaps it's the other way around. Either way, they should have a similar sonic signature and either would be a fine choice.
Happy hunting!
I don't believe Outlaw owns ATI.
ATI is big enough that they bought Theta a year plus ago.
As for sonic signatures...not sure about that since I haven't ever directly compared an Outlaw and ATI amp.
George
-
savefarris,
The Khartago has no problem driving the HT1's. I guess it is the current. I am using an Odyssey Tempest with good results, and have used a Mapletree 2A SE(tube), which was a very good match.
-
Van Alstine
Parasound
ATI
Rotel
McCormack
I think any of those will suit you well. I believe Outlaw owns ATI, or perhaps it's the other way around. Either way, they should have a similar sonic signature and either would be a fine choice.
Happy hunting!
I don't believe Outlaw owns ATI.
ATI is big enough that they bought Theta a year plus ago.
As for sonic signatures...not sure about that since I haven't ever directly compared an Outlaw and ATI amp.
George
Maybe it was a different company then, or maybe ATI does own Outlaw. I know we talked about it 6 months back or so...just can't remember who the other manufacturer was. Someone owns someone, or at least supplies the parts or whatever.
-
i just placed an order for a pair of HT1's and an HTC. i have a fairly large room, like to listen at high levels, use it primarily for rock music and home theater.
i have a denon 3808 which puts out about 120 wpc for 5 channels. im worried about the 4ohm HTC with the denon and would like an amp for the front 3.
i have been looking at
Van Alstine Insight 240/3 with the double die upgrades, but im worried that the 120 wpc it is rated for will not really give me much of an upgrade for my room.
Emotiva XPA-3
Outlaw 7500
I only have room for one amp so i cant do a stereo and a mono block.
have no problem going used to get under the roughly $1000 budget.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
I use an Emotiva RPA-2 that I paid $699 for and I think it is a great amp. Emotiva makes really good products as far as I can tell from experience and others feedback.
Emotiva actually makes amps for other vendors that charge much more. People that have toured the factory have said they were surprised by the presence of the "other" amps on the shelves. Emotiva can't say who they make amps for because of contract restrictions but I understand some are one's that would be considered a "higher end" amp and as such they charge quite a bit more for them :D
Also since they are a ID company they offer 30 day money back guarantee with you only paying for shipping on the way back 8)
-
Maybe it was a different company then, or maybe ATI does own Outlaw. I know we talked about it 6 months back or so...just can't remember who the other manufacturer was. Someone owns someone, or at least supplies the parts or whatever.
Outlaw contracts ATI to build their amps (or at least they used to, I don't know if they still do). I know the Outlaw 750 and 755 generation amps were built by ATI.
-
Thanks BradJudy! I knew I wasn't going crazy. :)
Yes, Emotiva does offer products at good price points. There seem to be some concerns with their company lately, however, specifically with properly certifying certain products in accordance with US regulations for FCC Part 15 emissions. YMMV, of course.
-
u can get alot use ADCOM amp way under 1k.
-
Yes, Emotiva does offer products at good price points. There seem to be some concerns with their company lately, however, specifically with properly certifying certain products in accordance with US regulations for FCC Part 15 emissions. YMMV, of course.
Emotiva was initially my first choice, but i have heard quite a few issues about them lately, most of them customer service related. but for the price they certainly seem hard to beat.
Im going to try to hear a few of these, i live in washington DC, i think Dennis lives nearby and runs his on a van alstine?
-
Yes, Emotiva does offer products at good price points. There seem to be some concerns with their company lately, however, specifically with properly certifying certain products in accordance with US regulations for FCC Part 15 emissions. YMMV, of course.
Emotiva was initially my first choice, but i have heard quite a few issues about them lately, most of them customer service related. but for the price they certainly seem hard to beat.
Im going to try to hear a few of these, i live in washington DC, i think Dennis lives nearby and runs his on a van alstine?
Where have you seen Emotiva issues? Are you sure it's not AV123? I'm not aware of any Emotiva issues but if you'll post the links I'll check them out. I certainly don't want to recommend a company if they are having issues. I have dealt with them fairly recently and had a 100% positive experience. I've only purchased a couple of things from them but both have been over the last 6 months.
-
Where have you seen Emotiva issues? Are you sure it's not AV123? I'm not aware of any Emotiva issues but if you'll post the links I'll check them out. I certainly don't want to recommend a company if they are having issues. I have dealt with them fairly recently and had a 100% positive experience. I've only purchased a couple of things from them but both have been over the last 6 months.
[/quote]
Yep, I know about AV123's issues as well, here is what I was referring to, it happened last November
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1086174
and a couple other issues have arisen that I have seen, a few were mentioned on Nuance's thread looking for an Amp at AVS.
which by the way, Nuance, you and Funkmonkey were the ones who brought me here from AVS, so thank you very much!
-
Had both the khartago and various emotiva amps, which had unbelievable bass control, but sonically I preferred the khartago. Both those were trumped in my system by an audiosector gainclone.
-
I like Emotiva, but here is the newest issue I was talking about (it applies to their new CDP, but if the accusations are true, then perhaps they cut corners elsewhere):
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1148961&highlight=emotiva
It's a lengthy thread, but simply reading the first couple pages will fill you in on what I'm talking about. And by the way, Chu Gai is a very respected forum member and truly knows his stuff. Some people don't like him because he's a no BS, tell it like it is guy. I like him, however. He's very helpful and knowledgeable. Anyway, happy reading, and I don't mean to start any flame wars or arguments. Like AV123, I feel it's necessary to point out when a company could be having issues. I mean no disrespect by this, but the consumers should be aware of things like this.
And for what it's worth, I am currently temporarily running an Emotiva amp with my ST's and have had zero issues. It sounds great! YMMV, of course
-
All of Outlaw's multichannel amps are built in the USA by ATI. I've used a 7075 (75 wpc), a 7125 (125 wpc) and now a 7500 (200 wpc) with my SongTowers and they've sounded great with all of them. FWIW, right now (until midnight) you can get an Outlaw 970 pre/pro for $99 with any multichannel Outlaw amp. Not new technology by any means but a good sounding pre-pro.
-
savefarris-
glad to hear you got your order in, congrats. :thumb:
I think your Denon will be able to handle the load until you find an amp that you like. Just look for higher current models, they shouldn't have any problem with the 4Ω HTC. These guys know their amps way better than I do, but I just wanted to remind you about Audiogon.com... always some really good used gear there, for good prices.
-
thank you for all the replies guys. how about any of the ICE amps? wyred 4 sound or d-sonic? anyone had experience with them?
I am using a Wyred ST250 to drive HT2s non TL version and am very happy with Wyred's product and customer service. All I can compare the wyred with is my NAD T754 (http://nadelectronics.com/products/av-receivers/T754-A/V-Receiver/specs). Although the NAD is not bad at all and can drive the HT2s easily, it does not have the bass control the wyred delivers. The sound, or lack thereof, of the wyred is great. I love it. It would be difficult to find a 3-channel wyred for less than $1k however.
-
has anyone used pro amps with their salks? i have been looking at either qsc or crown, they seem to be very cost-competitive and everything i have heard is that they are neutral sounding.
only problem is the fans on them but im not bothered by fan noise. what do you guys think?
-
has anyone used pro amps with their salks? i have been looking at either qsc or crown, they seem to be very cost-competitive and everything i have heard is that they are neutral sounding.
only problem is the fans on them but im not bothered by fan noise. what do you guys think?
I used to have Crown and Carver Z series pro amps in my HT set up. I personally got tired of the fan noise. When I replaced them with an Earthquake Cinenova Grande, the first thing I noticed was how noisy they were in my system Not a hum, just more tweeter hiss than I cared for. Now my speakers are dead quiet with the Cinenova. And I know that saying that I noticed a definite change in detail with the Cinenova will bring mixed opinions (all amps sound the same, right? :wink: They did sound rather neutral as you stated. Again, the only reason I got rid of them was because I was not able to isolate them from the listening area.
-
I use a Parasound Halo A51 to drive all H3's, 2 fronts, center and modified H1's for rears, check Audio Advisor, sells parasound new and refurbished. The refurb same factory warranty, but cost much less.
-
I use a Parasound Halo A51 to drive all H3's, 2 fronts, center and modified H1's for rears, check Audio Advisor, sells parasound new and refurbished. The refurb same factory warranty, but cost much less.
Nice setup!
-
I have a Rotel RB-1080 just for 2-channel - used prices in the $5-600 range - for my SongTowers. Denon AVR powers the SongCenter. An excellent amp, I'm quite happy with this setup and believe it could work for the HT1s, as it is conservatively rated at 200 wpc.
-
I'll make someone a great deal on a DAC 4800A amp at 380 wpc as I have my eye on another amp.
-
PM does not work for me btw.